Kindergarten Upadate

This was B on the first half day of kindergarten.


This was B the night of his 5th Birthday and the first full day of Kindergarten

This is B today

Yes B has fractured his arm falling from the monkey bars at school. He has fractured his growth plate and will be in a cast for the next six weeks. He has discovered that his cast is good for hitting his sister on the head with and is currently using as a new sort of weapon. Even though he is in a cast he is loving school and the attention he is receiving for his battle wound.

Keeping you in the know

Suzie

P.S> I am so sorry I haven't gotten to reading anyone's posts for awhile. As you can see things have gone from nuts to nuts and I promise to get to you all just as soon as I can.

Still Waiting

I had to take a boob sonogram. I'm still waiting for the results. Can someone please play the Jeopardy theme song please.

A Tumor or Not A Tumor That Is The Question

So so far 40 just sucks. Sucks bad.

Not to spill it all out all over the place. But as soon as I turned 40 my doc sent me for a mammogram.

My Aunt died of breast cancer and it was a terrible experience. Of course I was scared to death of a mammogram. I went in to the imagining center and dressed in one of those spa robes not fooling myself I would end up with sparkly toe nails at the end of it. I told the lady who would be squishing my breast and dragging it across the room about my Aunt and asked her if she could show the film to the doctor right away. She said he was out but she was nice and made me feel really comfortable as she compressed my boob till it looked like a pancake.

I got dressed while freaking out when she came and told me the radiologist was there he would look at the film and I should wait. I did sweating and praying and working myself up into a tizzy. An hour later she came back and brought me back into the room. Apparently something was off she needed to do more squishing. I went numb but not so numb that I didn't feel the next round of squishing and pulling and pulling. When she was done she said she'd go show the doc. I waited and thought about chemo and dying and putting my family through what my aunt went through. It was terrifying. 20 min later she returned. Its fine your in good health well see you again in a year.

I was so happy I walked home on air with a spring in my step I had escaped death.

The next day my doctor called. Don't freak out he said but we found a tumor in your breast. It's probably benign

What?!!

I explained that it was clear the radiologist had told me so.

Well not according to this report he explained. He said You have a tumor and we should do a sonogram.

Please call the radiologist. I begged and find out what happened between its OK and and its a tumor please

The doctor was astounded I don't know why your freaking out about this. He went on Its Friday we wont hear from him until Monday at the earliest.

So I've spent the weekend pretty damn confused. I am fine but I have a tumor. I'm healthy and can go but I'm not.

This is too much for my 40 year old brain. I seem to be confusing the doctor. He doesn't understand why a tumor may upset me. No one is calling me back and I am freaking out.

I hate 40! Hate it hate it hate it!

A Letter To My Bod

Dear Body:

You have been a good body Ive been really pleased about our relationship. You breathe you eat and make it possible for me to do everything I need to do in the course of a day. Remember that time we went to the beach...it was all thanks to you. You body are to be commended.

Lately I've noticed you are beginning to hmmm.. whats a nice way to put it..fall apart. I'm not sure who gave you the fall apart message perhaps it was that nasty 5th vertebrae (she's always causing problems) or maybe someone told you this year we would be turning 40.

Contrary to popular belief 40 does not mean one has to fall to pieces. It is not necessary to tell hair follicles to fall out. It's not par for the course to cause us to end up in the hospital in abdominal pain. Neither do you need to give into to migraines, excessive gas, incontinence, scumming to gravity in important and unflattering areas,wrinkling, hemorrhoids or anything else you may associate with the dreaded four zero.

It is my great hope that we will have many many long years left together. I would love to see the world and body it would be my greatest dream to have you there with me. So do me a favor ignore the big four zero its just a number and not a message of destruction and please tell the 5th vertebrae to get a life.

Love,
Suzie

Post Cards From the Hospital

Some people know how to vacation. They go to Peru or Bornio. Some people prefer Disney or Universal. I however being the unique soul that I am I choose the hospital. Yes the last few days I have been in the hospital throwing up blood and experiencing what can only be described as labor without the wonderful little present at the end.

Wednesday I woke up in the middle of the night feeling as though fairies were pulling my spleen out of my toenails. After a fun filled night of moaning and scaring my husband into an early grave I went to the doctor who quickly sent me to the emergency room. From there I was admitted into the hospital from hell for a fun filled night of injections in the stomach being poked in places even my husband would not dare to go and lemon flavored jello ((shudder)).

I wont bore you with all the details but suffice it to say that Beth Israel is one horrible hospital. And after being poked and prodded and cat scanned and dog scanned the doctor followed by a team of groveling interns said So what do you think is wrong with you?

I laughed and then realized he was serious and staring at this bunch of incompetents I answered My doctorate is in Education Administration ask me whats wrong with a school I can tell you but reading a cat scan is not my speciality.

The doctor and his gang looked disappointed they shrugged their shoulders and moved on to ask another patient to analyze a brain scan.

So according to dopey sneezy and doc I either have an ulcer, gal stones, food poisoning, an alien abduction that went wrong, or a hang nail.

Either way someone owes me a trip to Disney World.

Grandpa's House

I just came back from a few days in Philly visiting my folks with the kids for Passover (my favorite holiday!). For little B it is better than Disney Land. He and his Grandpa spend hours jumping on the bed and causing mayhem in the house. He believes his Grandpa is 4 years old and just an over sized kid (maybe he has some glandular problem that makes him so tall but B is just too polite to ask) and a great play mate.

The trip always ends with B saying can we please stay here forever?

I love this relationship It is sweet and wonderful and it makes my heart swell with love for both of them but no matter what by the time we leave B has infected my (not four year old father) with something awful. B sniffles and slimes on his grandpa and this time he even threw up on him. So its not surprise that as we leave my father sniffs not only with remorse at seeing his little play mate leave but with the first symptoms of the tropical illness B has infected him with.

My Dad is in his 70's although he's a strapping guy he's eligible for free bus rides and discount movie tickets. Age does not make these icky childhood illnesses any fun at all. So I have the impulse to wrap B is plastic wrap and fit my father with a plastic bubble so I would not have to wait for my mom to call and say the inevitable.

Your father is sick....he's not a young man you know.... (insert pause for guilt and foot taping)

So when B asks Can we stay here forever the answer is no you little pattrie dish! Not this year. Now get your finger out of your nose!

My Eye Hurts

My eye hurts. I don't know why. I just woke just this morning and there it was stinging away. Now I am not the sort of person to get crazy about small things. I'm just a go with the flow type of gal. Its a good thing I'm not one of those crazy nuts who blow everything out of proportion because if I was these are some things I might have thought happened to my peeper:

1. I was abducted by aliens and they implanted a chip in my eye so they could find me later. Hey its better than the anal probe.
2. I scratched my eye during a fight with a vampire. After the fight my memory was erased so I would not tell anyone of their secret lair.
3. I'm actually a super hero while I sleep and I wear colored contacts to hide my secret identity. They make my eyes ache sometimes but saving those puppies and seven babies was totally worth it.
4. During the night a fertile bug deposited eggs in my Corina. In a few weeks they will hatch like the movie aliens and take over the earth
5. I'm possessed and the demon is trying to get out through my eye
6. The kids did something bad bad bad
   
7. Because of fear of the recession unbeknowst to me my hubby rents out my eyes while I sleep to make some extra cash. The person who used it last night was not careful and scratched it He will not be getting his security deposit back.

Its probably nothing. I'll just be wearing tin foil on my head and locking my door at night until I know for sure.

Sick But Skinnyish

I'm back.

Sorry I've been a way so long but once again I've been sick.

My throat was filled with puss and I felt just awful. But I'm OK now. This has been a strange winter. I'm the type that never gets sick and now twice in almost 30 days I am laid up with just gross awful sicknesses. Nothing major just the kind that lands you flat on your back for a good week.

I hate being sick. Housework doesn't stop and the kids seem to need more attention than normal especially if you cant lift your head off the pillow. Hubby was great and really helped out but still.

However there are a couple of really good things about the winter germs. The best part is I lost another 10 pounds! Two illness later I am twenty pounds thinner. I was thinking about getting my own site and adverting loosing 20 pounds in 30 days through the www.rentmygermykidsforaday.com. Since I've poured through all of my sick days for the year I'm going to need the extra income if anyone else decides to get sick this year.

The other good thing is I have lots of good fodder for the blog. In my head I've been blogging away. Boy I was witty and insightful I had 45 comments. I think I won a few awards and was nominated for something. It was great.

So I hope you all haven't forgotten about me. If I could have sat up I totally would have been commenting away on your bloggs. I'm going there now and I promise I have some great insightful...OK I promise to blow you away with my witty wise ....Ok I promise to do the silly word recognition thing on your sites and try it at least twice before I give up and storm away.

Keep healthy

Its Not Fair

I'm so sick.

I am unable to function. I'm not sure why I'm here at work maybe just to spread the germs around so they wont be lonely.

I think we should start charging tuition for germs as they seem to spend more time at school then the kids do.

I know I should have called in sick but everyone else did.

So here I am spreading my germs. Unable to talk. Wanting to lay on my bed and Watch Big Love.

Sometimes I really hate being a grown up.

My Own Little Typhoid Mary

Its been some weekend. Everyone has been sick. Our little typhoid Mary otherwise known as Little S has been spreading her sea of germs wither and yon. One cough and she has spread her plague throughout the land. She herself seems to be fine expect for the pool of green snot that is constantly collecting below her nose.

My husband is the worst off. A little kiss snotty from his cute little baby and he has a full blown case of bronchitis. She leaves him laying in a ball moaning in pain.

I thought as a long time daycare director I could not be effected by her germs. I've gone years without so much as a cold. But little did I know that S has super germs capable of stopping a rhino in its tracks and cause it to spontaneously develop a serious case of pink eye. So I too have been effected. As I sit her now I am fighting giving into the throws of a flu she has given to me with her snotty sweet little hands.

Little B isn't much better although his illnesses seem to be shorter in duration then his grown up counterparts. However the whinnying created from the short lived illnesses are enough to drive even the strongest to his knees. Cries of MOMMY I WANT AN ICE POP NOW!!!!! I DON'T FEEL GOOD I NEED AN ICE PACK!!!! WAAAAAA!!! Seem to do more damage than little S's plague ridden hugs.

I've considered putting her in a bigger version of one of those hamster balls to help protect us for her evil germs. I even considered a suit made of plastic wrap and helmet. But I think at least for now we must accept the fact that our darling little daughter is really a germ factory waiting to infect us all.

We Interupt This Blog

I have gotten really into Facebook these days. I know I originally hated it but now I'm hooked.


We interrupt this blog post for fast breaking news story from Suzie's school:



It has been reported that one of the parents came to school this morning to drop off her two kids aged two and 10 months. The mother bent down to take her baby out of the carrier she was wearing when her two year old came running over and bent in as to give the baby a kiss. Instead of a kiss he took his brothers nose in his mouth and sucked up all the snot from his brothers nose . As he ran away laughing he was seen licking his lip in triumph. This was followed by mass gagging and shouts of Ewww! and NO WAY!!! from observers.


We now return you to our regularly scheduled blog post.


Maybe in a few years she'll return I hope so I miss her.

Here Chicky chick chick

Chicken pox. The doctor thinks I have chicken pox. Can you believe it?

I remember being 9 with the pox and thinking at least Ill never have to go through this again? Oh yeah? That's what you think little 9 year old me. Little do you know that when you are an old almost a 40 year old lady you will be foxy, poxy again. And if you thought having chicken pox when you are 9 is bad just wait because having the pox as an adult is really great. The days and days of high fevers the itching the pain yes actually pain all makes for lots of grown up fun.

And just try keeping up with the little ens as you sweat and itch and move around in your delirium. Its a whole new level of fun.

I hate to be bitter. After all the test results are not in yet I could have such fun things as shingles, leprosy,some really gross thing I saw on Opera in my fever fog.

You know knowing my family its probably some weird flesh eating virus that will cause the staff at my school to freak out and wrap my kids and I in plastic wrap to keep from getting my hideous new disease that of course is highly contagious.

Ok Im bitter and sick. What can I do I'm only human or well maybe a little fowl of late. So here's to you chicken pox. A pox on you!

I Dont Feel Well

I am sorry I have not responded to anyone posts of late. I have been sick. Really sick. The kind of sick where you cant lift your head off the pillow. Where you wake up drenched in sweat and wondering where the hell you are. The kind of sick that should be reserved for bad people who enjoy poking small animals with sharp sticks.

After spending the last few days in a fever fog I awoke (not that I am better but I can now take a few steps without collapsing and asking for my mommy) to look around my apartment and realize it has been transferred to some hell dimension. A dimensions where sippy cups filled with rotten milk crunch under my feet. Where dirty diapers and old trays of take out food food never seem to quiet make it to the diaper basket. Where monster hell children run around insanely eating candy in dirty pajamas even though it is 3 pm and exhausted and crazed looking hubby rocks humming tunelessly to himself .

Last night I struggled through my fever fog to right the wrongs of the hell dimensions. I talked my poor hubby off the couch and let him run free in the fields of Sunday night football. I fought the and scaled the ugly mountains of trash. I tamed and dressed the hell children and even cooked them dinner.

So I guess the lesson here is Mommies can never ever get sick. Ever for any reason...But I gotta tell ya...I want my mommy..... I'm so sick

And It Still Goes On and On

Its so hard to blog these days. You would think all these weeks later things would have calmed down on the meningitis front but they haven't. My staff is still being nuts every day there is a new freak out. The Department of Health has been getting calls from random staff members every few days alleging all types of things which means constant random inspections at work. Every day the stress continues and gets worse. Since Little B has been in the hospital I don't think there has been one day where the stress hasn't been out of control. The staff thinks I am lying to them about calling the DOH they think I have inside info I am not sharing. It's out of control and I have no idea what to do anymore. Its crazy!

I have to keep reminding myself that I am not responsible for my child being sick. The meningitis germ is not my pal who I invited to invade my sons body. I am just a gal who had a sick son and now is put in the very uncomfortable place of being the villain. I have no idea why.

I think as bosses go I am a very nice one. I believe that since work is where you spend most of your time if its not fun then it means life is not fun. I have tried to create an open and inviting environment where peoples voices are heard and people laugh. Maybe that was my mistake this type of craziness would never happen at McDonald's.

I tried to follow Mark's Salinas's advice about picking a special hour to worry and setting that hour aside for worries instead of letting it take over all the time but its really hard these days as I feel I am being attacked constantly at every angle. I am trying to remember to breath and I know or I hope this will all be just a bitter memory months from now.

My Pod Kids

I don't know how or why it happened but both children were good last night. Really good. It was wonderful but strange and creepy at the same time. As they gathered around my lap listening to stories and holding each others hands I felt a chill. Were they waiting until I was lulled into a false sense of security before they attacked one another with sippy cups and tried to stick things in the dogs ears? Who had replaced my children with these sweet pod children? Maybe it was aliens. It had to be aliens. But Little B put socks on his sisters feet to keep the chill off before bed and Little S kissed her brother as they were tucked into bed. I kept waiting for the other foot to drop. I kept waiting for the blue ice to fall out of a passing airplane but it was a very nice evening.

Until....

2am

Why is 2am the hour when all children throw up, develop horrible rashes, or freak out? I have not been granted the answer to this question but my children certainly signed on for the 2am slot. At 2am Little B started to wail. This woke up Little S who also started to wail. I began to yell for Hubby as it was technically his shift. Hubby did not wake up he gave me a sleep induced thumbs up rolled over and began to snore. I was on my own and my yelling caused the dog to freak out and bark. It was fun, fun, fun! When I could finally make out what was wrong over all the noise it turned out B's mouth hurt. I don't know what all that was about but apparently 10 min of the Superfriends and an ice pop seemed to do the trick.

I went back to bed assured in the knowledge these were indeed my children and they had not been replaced by any pod kids.

Phew..I'm relieved

Or am I?

And On and On It Goes

I had hoped to have a quiet holiday. My plan was to take my kids to synagogue followed by dropping them off at school and having a little R&R with my hubby. It was such a good good plan but it was not to be.

One of the teachers developed a very bad headache and was admitted into the hospital. She called one of the teachers and said they were testing her for (among other things) meningitis. The teachers became panicked and began staging a walk out. I ran to the school and tried to explain once again that even though the virus which is like a cold is contagious but the meningitis is not. This is the same conversation I had at my sons bedside in the hospital. But they said having my children there was contaminating everyone.

I called the Department of Health and had them explain my children were not contagious and once again talk to them about viral meningitis. They would not hear it. It was like a modern day witch hunt where my children where the ones being thrown on the pire. It was crazy.

At one point I broke down and started crying it didn't seem to matter to them at all. They seemed stuck in this ignorance where the facts where irrelevant and only their fear mattered. I had the DOH (Department of Health) several pediatricians and my child's doctor in the hospital explain things to them but they could only hear their fear. One teacher even called the DOH to verify that I didn't have a friend pose as a DOH official. It was unbelievable. It was a mob mentality and it was directed at my kids and myself. It was terrible and just very very ugly.

Silly me I thought people stood behind you in times of trouble. I thought co-workers supported each other when children get horribly sick. Instead they seem out to save there own skin even when there is no danger. My son was dying of dehydration not viral meningitis and that can happen with any illness. I would not bring my child to school with a deathly illness. Why would I?

Of course in the end the teacher did not have meningitis.

I however think I am on the verge of a breakdown.

Valium Please

Its wonderful and strange little B is back at school with me. A few days ago he was at deaths door today he is running around like a lunatic and playing with his friends. Its amazing how fast he has recovered. He still has blinding head aches at night but the doctor assures us they should be gone very soon.

While Little B seems to bionic I find I am not. I am exhausted. I have such dark circled under my eyes it is alarming and I feel like I could cry or yell at the drop of a hat. I have gained several pounds from the greasy hospital food and I cant seem to concentrate at all. I keep hoping getting back into a routine will help. Of course the holidays are this week so our routine will be anything but normal but I find we have a lot to pray about this year.

At Rosh hashanah there is time where they take people who have faced death this year and they gather them under taleets (prayer cloths) and say a special prayer for them. I never really noticed this until 9/11/01 where they had so many people gathered underneath the cloths that they had to get extra helpers to hold all the clothes. It was heart breaking. This year when I think of bringing B under that cloth my heart breaks again. I cant believe we nearly lost him. I cant imagine a world without him.

He's Home

Its been a terrible few days. Its all been a big blur of hospitals and terror. But Little B is home.

We nearly lost him. When I took him to the hospital he was non responsive he screamed in pain when touched and I grabbed him and ran through the streets covered in a blanket with no shoes and tried to grab a cab. The streets where blocked with UN traffic I thought he would die in the cab. He couldn't turn his head the light from the TV hurt and he couldn't open his eyes. His breathing became labored the driver shouted at me to run with him which I did.

When we got to the hospital they took him right in. We were next to a gun shot victim who screamed and screamed. Little B did not move or respond. They did a spinal tap the pain of which tore my hear out and within the hour the diagnosis came it was meningitis.

My hubby came and did not leave his side for the next three days. I went home to take care of little S.

I arrived at the hospital the next day to find B sitting upand feeling a little better. It was amazing but we were not out of the woods. He had boughts of pain so badly I just held him while he screamed.

Then the phone started ringing it was work. They were in a panic I was yelled at by my boss and treated so badly I still cannot wrap my head around the insensitivity. Sitting by my sons bedside I had to do a telephone conference. It was outrageous. The place I put in 9 years of love and caring and hard work treated me like...well you know.Im still trying to sort through all of that.

We were put in a isolation ward for three days. People had to suit up in scrubs mask and gloves to come see us. I still have no idea what his doctor looked like. Suddenly on the third day when we were cleared (his form of meningitis was not contagious) we were released.

Last night I went to bed with all my family under one roof. It was heaven. But at 11pm the screaming started again. The pain is terrible still but I am told it should lesson each day.

I cant believe this all happened. Your support was and is amazing. When I came home from the hospital and saw all those comments it helped me get through some very long nights.If it wasnt for my family and my wonderful hubby and all of you I have no idea how I would have gotten through it all. Thank you so much.

Thank You

I am so touched for all your kind words. Thank you so much. Your thoughts and prayers right now are so wonderful. This is so terrible I feel so lost. But knowing there is some support out there just helps so much you have no idea. Thank you.

Bad Mommy Strikes Again

This morning little S woke up snotty and coughing and just generally ill. So I said to myself shes not sick. She's just a little tried.

The teacher in me said "Hey bad parent that child is sick. You cannot bring that baby to school."

The mommy in me said "This is curriculum morning at my school so its not at all a good day or week for a sick baby. She's fine."

The teacher me said "Hey bad parent you are bad bad bad. That baby is sick. You know the drill."

I walked around the apartment getting ready and tried to ignore that she was hot and sweaty and she gunk leaking out of her eyes as the teacher Suzie began chanting "bad mommy bad mommy".

I tired but after several rasping coughs that sounded like she had been singing in a smokey lounge all night and several sad little sickly wails I had to throw in the towel and admit she was (a little)sick.

"I know" I thought "I'll ask Hubby that way it wont be bad mommy at all making the decision it will be bad Daddy." I walked into my bedroom and woke up my hubby cradling my sicky baby. "Honey do you think she's too sick to go to school?"

The baby let loose a stream of green snot and rubbed her cakey little eyes. "Oh not at all. " My hubby croaked not opening up his eye to even check her out.


The baby decided the only way this was going to work was if she made the decision for us. She crawled out of my arms and curled up on his chest and with a little smile went to sleep.

So once again able to put on my perfect mommy crown I snuck out of the bedroom and took B to school.

I hope my Hubby notices shes there.


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By the way I do apologise again for my bug stories. I will try to stop myself fwriting something gross for at least a week. I wont even blog about the strange bug on the wall last night that leapt on my hubby and tried to burrow in his face. So instead I will show great restraint and will cease and desist all bug stories for as long as I can.